Morgan BellGenevieve vs The Raven
March 30th 2009 00:17
It's poetry appreciation time here at Deep Pencil . . .
I found this poem on YouTube, written and spoken by an angsty young gent called Cody Weber.
Cody is a photographer and a vlogger, but after seeing this video, "Genevieve", I now also have respect for him as a writer.
Something about the rhythm, or perhaps his tone of voice, reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven". Maybe it's the heavy use of rhyme and alliteration? Or the futility of the subject matter?
Can you see any similarities?
Here is Cody Weber with "Genevieve".
GENEVIEVE.
Poem By: Cody Weber
A paper boat
in an endless sea
rides
To the feet of God
Where ocean tides
seem subtle
and silent
in contrast to
the screams
It all seems
irredeemably
irrefutable
Like cuticles
Bleeding
Or the beautiful
Seeming
Uglier.
Genevieve.
They called her Genevieve
And she had bright red hair
That often seemed
unfair for her
to have
But she had it
And because she had it
Nobody really noticed
her swaying in the breeze
Until night came around
And her red hair
seemed to glow
But you'd never
know
Had you never seen her knees
Swaying
Or ever felt her heart
breaking
Or the blood
clotting
around her wrists
Genevieve.
Her family believed
That had they named her
something easier
that Genevieve wouldn't be
Instead she'd be something else
Like a Mary
Had she never
learned to spell
A name of such
complexity
Then she wouldn't have progressed
In the shadow
of the valley
in the high school
of death
But they all digressed
and they talked of her in retrospect
They spoke with words
that meant neglect
About the purple rings
around her eyes
or the star tattooed
above her thigh
That only begged the boys to fuck her
And only begged the mirror to mock her
And fuck her, too
But in that way that doesn't feel right
Like a phantom pain
Or a kid with shoes
So tight that they snap
right off their dirty
little feet
Genevieve.
Genevive used to say
In the middle of the night
or the middle of the day
That had she'd found love
or lust
whichever must
come first
That she'd be fine
And she'd feel worth
something
Poor Genevieve.
Genevieve confused love
for fucking
And she'd fuck all the boys
like the boys
all had something
special
But they never really did
They just hid
their premature
ejaculation
But it was purely
masturbation
For a girl now
deceased
But it never grew above
Because it was planted
underneath
the porch
And there's no such thing as love
For a girl who still seemed
to breathe
from the tree
she was hanging from
Like a paper boat
in a blanket sea
that could cover her
with misery
And make her feel
So god
damn
complete
But nothing seemed as cold
Not the marble on the stone
That kissed the shore
alone
So ignore me when I say
That everything will be
okay.
Okay?
Because nothing's really fine
And I'm disgusted that time
Seems to peck away
at my fucking skin
Leaving me to ask myself
"When will I let
the maggots in?"
Because I'm only delaying
what's sure to come
Like the universe
killing
Our precious sun
And I'm a precious son
Of a precious one
Turned calloused
I'm the baby minus
love
Replaced by
Malice
In a futile spectrum
Of good times
And good fun
Because when we die
And when we're one
Again
Subconsciously
unconscious
Sin
See?
The other side
is overnight
delivery
With satisfaction
guaranteed
And the sum of sums
is there
complete
As we become the grass
And the trees
that will last
Longer than we ever did
A deathbed turned dirty
With a Genevieve
Now pretty
Or a Mary
Now sitting
Down
We're all going down
together.
Forever.
Our paper masts do crumble down
And we're left with a sea
of nothingness
Won't you see
that nothingness
with
me?
Here is "The Raven" spoken by James Earl Jones, for those unfamiliar with Poe's poem.
Am I hearing things that are not there, or do these two poems have some elements of style in common?
I found this poem on YouTube, written and spoken by an angsty young gent called Cody Weber.
Cody is a photographer and a vlogger, but after seeing this video, "Genevieve", I now also have respect for him as a writer.
Something about the rhythm, or perhaps his tone of voice, reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven". Maybe it's the heavy use of rhyme and alliteration? Or the futility of the subject matter?
Can you see any similarities?
Here is Cody Weber with "Genevieve".
GENEVIEVE.
Poem By: Cody Weber
A paper boat
in an endless sea
rides
To the feet of God
Where ocean tides
seem subtle
and silent
in contrast to
the screams
It all seems
irredeemably
irrefutable
Like cuticles
Bleeding
Or the beautiful
Seeming
Uglier.
Genevieve.
They called her Genevieve
And she had bright red hair
That often seemed
unfair for her
to have
But she had it
And because she had it
Nobody really noticed
her swaying in the breeze
Until night came around
And her red hair
seemed to glow
But you'd never
know
Had you never seen her knees
Swaying
Or ever felt her heart
breaking
Or the blood
clotting
around her wrists
Genevieve.
Her family believed
That had they named her
something easier
that Genevieve wouldn't be
Instead she'd be something else
Like a Mary
Had she never
learned to spell
A name of such
complexity
Then she wouldn't have progressed
In the shadow
of the valley
in the high school
of death
But they all digressed
and they talked of her in retrospect
They spoke with words
that meant neglect
About the purple rings
around her eyes
or the star tattooed
above her thigh
That only begged the boys to fuck her
And only begged the mirror to mock her
And fuck her, too
But in that way that doesn't feel right
Like a phantom pain
Or a kid with shoes
So tight that they snap
right off their dirty
little feet
Genevieve.
Genevive used to say
In the middle of the night
or the middle of the day
That had she'd found love
or lust
whichever must
come first
That she'd be fine
And she'd feel worth
something
Poor Genevieve.
Genevieve confused love
for fucking
And she'd fuck all the boys
like the boys
all had something
special
But they never really did
They just hid
their premature
ejaculation
But it was purely
masturbation
For a girl now
deceased
But it never grew above
Because it was planted
underneath
the porch
And there's no such thing as love
For a girl who still seemed
to breathe
from the tree
she was hanging from
Like a paper boat
in a blanket sea
that could cover her
with misery
And make her feel
So god
damn
complete
But nothing seemed as cold
Not the marble on the stone
That kissed the shore
alone
So ignore me when I say
That everything will be
okay.
Okay?
Because nothing's really fine
And I'm disgusted that time
Seems to peck away
at my fucking skin
Leaving me to ask myself
"When will I let
the maggots in?"
Because I'm only delaying
what's sure to come
Like the universe
killing
Our precious sun
And I'm a precious son
Of a precious one
Turned calloused
I'm the baby minus
love
Replaced by
Malice
In a futile spectrum
Of good times
And good fun
Because when we die
And when we're one
Again
Subconsciously
unconscious
Sin
See?
The other side
is overnight
delivery
With satisfaction
guaranteed
And the sum of sums
is there
complete
As we become the grass
And the trees
that will last
Longer than we ever did
A deathbed turned dirty
With a Genevieve
Now pretty
Or a Mary
Now sitting
Down
We're all going down
together.
Forever.
Our paper masts do crumble down
And we're left with a sea
of nothingness
Won't you see
that nothingness
with
me?
Here is "The Raven" spoken by James Earl Jones, for those unfamiliar with Poe's poem.
Am I hearing things that are not there, or do these two poems have some elements of style in common?
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Comment by Raoul Duke
Style of Eye
Comment by Wilson Pon
Health 2 Know
Adventure Toes
boxing sound
Business Rope
Fun Places 2 Travel
Comment by Raoul Duke
Style of Eye
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
you know im not rightly sure the name of the model or the photographer, she just one of those internet memes that has blanketed myspace and photobucket
looks a bit like a suicide girls type scenario, sexualising an eating disorder, or something Jeffree Star would do
i thought she looked a bit like a Genevieve though . . . maybe even a Lenore?
hi Wilson,
a dark angel of death?
she could be a troubled girl with the spirit of a raven?
Comment by samaritan
Samaritan's Stories
And there's no such thing as love
For a girl who still seemed
to breathe
from the tree
she was hanging from
But I'm sorry, I don't really see the similarity to Poe's The Raven. It doesn't have the same repetition (which to me is the most striking thing about The Raven). And it's a completely different feel. One feel deep and raw. The other has this sense of foreboding, but you kind of feel like smiling all the way through it. (Or is that just me??)
I think the girl with the tattoos is a fallen angel. I think it goes very well with the poem. There's this sense that this girl should have been something beautiful and special, but instead she's living in the dregs.
Samaritan
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
what a beautiful interpretation of the photo, it does kind of have the sting of lost opportunity hey
thats ok about not seeing the similarity, its entirely possible my mind drew a link based entirely upon the pace of the readers speaking voice or the length of the poems or something fairly arbitrary
it think they are both about death, in particular the torment of knowing the death of another is inevitable, about resolving oneself with a certain fate
i was hoping some orblers with an appreciation for poetry (like you) might come along and give me their take on it
i like your analysis about the differences between the two poems, thanks for taking the time to suss it out
Comment by Postmodern Critic
Postmodern Critic
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
I do like that girl's tattoo, though... while it's very big it's also elegant and artistic, and looks just right in proportion to her back.
Cheers~
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
i guess its a bit negative, but i felt it had a cathartic quality
i do like the occassional piece of poetry
i think it helps when i hear it read, i can really get a sense of the writers intentions when i can hear the pauses in the correct places and the overall tone
its quite an eye-catching picture isnt it
i wish i were brave enough to get a full back tattoo
thanks for your comment
Comment by Anonymous